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I tried to post a classified ad on Craigslist and found that they do not accept pre-paid debit cards.

Why could that be?

Ben Miller
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Five Bagger
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    Because it's as much about identifying you as about payment. If a card is used for unacceptable stuff they know who you are and can decide if they want to let you post another ad or not. A pre-paid card is anonymous, they can't flag you with it. – Loren Pechtel May 21 '17 at 08:22
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    @JoeTaxpayer He's not looking for a product or service recommendation, but rather to understand a rule. – Loren Pechtel May 21 '17 at 08:23
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    @LorenPechtel you should post your first comment as an answer! – Vicky May 21 '17 at 11:00
  • Reopened. My knee-jerk reaction was that it was a specific question about one company, not really a PF question. I edited wording to make it general, as it's not really about that one company. I agree with Vicky, you should post the comment as an answer. – JTP - Apologise to Monica May 21 '17 at 12:10
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    @Vicky You can't post answers on locked questions. Now that it's reopened I posted it as an answer. – Loren Pechtel May 21 '17 at 13:03
  • You need to clarify the question. The original made it seem as though you were trying to sell the cards. via a classified ad. This revision seems like you are trying to use the card to pay for posting a classified ad, but the service mentiond in the original doesn't charge for posting - or didn't as of a year or so ago. – jamesqf May 21 '17 at 17:51
  • @jamesqf Craigslist does charge for certain types of ads. – Ben Miller May 21 '17 at 20:43
  • @JoeTaxpayer What's wrong with a mention of Craigslist? If you won't allow a question specifically about Craigslist, why won't you allow it to be even mentioned as an example? – Ben Miller May 21 '17 at 20:45
  • Ben, my opinion, in general, the mention of specific companies is not needed if the issue is general, and probably off topic if it only applies to that one company. When I read this it struck me as OP asking us to guess the motivation of this company's rules. But if the issue is common, then it deserves an answer. – JTP - Apologise to Monica May 21 '17 at 20:53
  • If you feel that approach is wrong, I can reverse my edit. I'm not adamant on this one. I'd respect and go with your view if you feel strongly... – JTP - Apologise to Monica May 21 '17 at 20:55
  • @JoeTaxpayer I do feel that approach is wrong. See this, this, and this. Even you once asked a question about Ticketmaster. :) – Ben Miller May 21 '17 at 21:34
  • Understood, and rolled back. As always, your input is valued. And you have a great memory, I am getting old. – JTP - Apologise to Monica May 21 '17 at 21:38

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Because it's as much about identifying you as about payment. If a card is used for unacceptable stuff they know who you are and can decide if they want to let you post another ad or not. A pre-paid card is anonymous, they can't flag you with it.

Loren Pechtel
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